Garment printing is performed today by screen printing press machines that are complex, inflexible, and require a specific set-up for each different print and color. First, an image file undergoes a mechanical spot-color separation process (each color is printed in black and white on a separate sheet of paper or film). Then, the image is “developed” in a long optical process, into a fine mesh (screen), which is pressed during the printing process against the media. Before printing, each screen has to be set in the proper station and adjusted with reference to the other screens. Ink is transferred to the garment through the mesh by mechanical means (generally wiping a squeegee along the screen). Garment screen-printing technology requires a special press station for each color level. Print quality is limited due to the high registration requirements between stations; hence printing resolution is relatively low.
Garment presses are usually carousel machines based on up to 24 press stations. These machines occupy large floor area and are complex to service and maintain. Thus, conventional screen-printing technology is not cost effective for short run processes, especially for sample printing stages, although it is cost effective and fast for long run tasks.
An attempt has been made to provide a device for printing onto a portion of a substrate, such as a garment. U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,628 describes and claims an apparatus for ink jet printing pre-programmed viewable indicia onto a substrate. The apparatus is essentially a conventional ink jet printer, and is capable of creating the indicia through ink jet ink depositing upon flat or rigid substrates as a result of controlled platen movement beneath the ink jet printer head and controlled ink jet printer head movement and ink flow control by a programmed CPU. The flexible printing substrate of the patented invention is larger than the platen and portions of the substrate are draped downwardly over edges of the platen and tucked under the platen.
Accordingly, there is a strong felt need for an efficient, fast, automated, digital garment printing machine which could provide high resolution, multicolor prints in a short lead-time.